My 7500 comes on through my 990 and puts out sound within a few seconds even though the blue light is off. 28 seconds later the blue light comes on. It has done this since I have owned it for the last three years. Outlaw thought it was abnormal at first but the startup sequence has been described in the saloon pretty consistently with no other issues noted. Contact Scott at Outlaw and he will help you figure it out. The popping noises are what would concern me. Could they be source related?
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Music system
Model 990/7500/Magnepan 1.6 QRs/Technics SL1200 MK2/Aperion S-12 Subwoofer/OWA3/Sony NS75H DVD
APC H15 Power Conditioner

TV System
Large Advent Loudspeakers/ Polk center/Monoprice surrounds/Panasonic Viera 42 inch/Onkyo HT-RC260/Sony BDP S590/Directv


Home Theater System
Onkyo PR-SC886/Outlaw 7125 Klipsch RF-82 L/R,RC-62 center, RB-35 SR/SL, BENQ HT1075, Outlaw LFM1-EX/OPPO BDP-83/Directv
Harmony ONE
Blue Jeans and Monoprice interconnects
APC H15 Power Conditioner